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Elizabeth is a Creative Director at The Hudsucker. The Vancouver-based storyteller, social media manager, and content marketer lives and loves to write about arts & entertainment and travel & culture. She is an old soul who's young at heart, a human jukebox, and a corgi lady in training. Follow Elizabeth on Twitter at @ElizabethThe.

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8 Must-See Movies for Christmas 2018

Image Credit: Walt Disney Studios

During the holidays, we all look forward to a break from our everyday lives. As appealing as staying indoors for Netflix marathons all chilly weather season long may be, there’s something unique and special about venturing out to the movie theatre to catch a newly released motion picture. In those two hours, you are connected to a community of fellow movie lovers in the shared human experience of seeing action unfold, justice served, heroes triumph, magic drawn, families reunited, and people falling in love.

Here are eight new feature films arriving in theaters throughout the week of Christmas 2018 that were made to be seen in cinemas.

Mary Poppins Returns

Released over five decades after the 1964 Disney classic starring Julie Andrews, the marvelous Mary Poppins returns to the silver screen for an unforgettably jolly holiday. Set in Depression-era London, the delightful fantasy movie-musical sees the bold and uniquely eccentric nanny (played by Emily Blunt) re-entering the lives of the now grown up Michael and Jane Banks (Ben Whishaw and Emily Mortimer) and Michael’s children after a family tragedy. With the help of street lamplighter Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda), Poppins uses her magic to help the family rediscover and restore the childhood joy and wonder missing in their lives. Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Julie Walters, and the iconic Dick Van Dyke round out the dynamic cast.

Aquaman

First introduced in Justice League, DC fans will see Aquaman (Jason Momoa) claiming his rightful throne as King of Atlantis. Born half-Atlantean and half-human (as Arthur Curry) to Nicole Kidman‘s Queen of Atlantis and lighthouse keeper Thomas Curry, Arthur/Aquaman goes on the quest of becoming a leader and a hero. With the help of Mera (Amber Heard), he seeks to retrieve the legendary Trident of Atlan to save the world from his power-hungry brother Orm/Ocean Master (Patrick Wilson) and unite the seven underwater kingdoms and the surface world. Aquaman aims to carve out a new legacy for the DC Extended Cinematic Universe in a way that 2017’s Wonder Woman did.

Bumblebee

The first spinoff in the Transformers franchise is set in the late 1980s and follows the origin story of Bumblebee, who is on the run and finds refuge in a junkyard in a coastal town along California. On her eighteenth birthday, Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld) discovers Bumblebee (voiced by Dylan O’Brien) and quickly learns this is no ordinary yellow Volkswagen bug. A friendship is formed between the two as they find themselves caught up in a war between autobots, decepticons, and humans.

Second Act

Maya Vargas (Jennifer Lopez) is a big box store employee from Queens who, by the case of mistaken identity, gets a second chance to reinvent herself as a corporate careerwoman on Madison Avenue. This gives her an opportunity to prove to Madison Avenue that street smarts and natural talent are just as valuable as a college degree. Lopez plays opposite Leah Remini, Milo Ventimiglia, and Vanessa Hudgens.

Welcome to Marwen

Based on an incredible true story, Welcome to Marwen follows Mark Hogancamp (Steve Carell), a man who is victimized in a devastating attack that wiped away his memories and threatened to shatter him and his spirit completely. Putting together pieces from his old and new lives, Mark builds the WWII-era town of Marwen, an astonishing art installation that is a testament to his recovery, his heroism, and the most influential women in his life (played by Leslie Mann, Janelle Monae, Merritt Wever, Gwendoline Christie, and Eiza Gonzalez). Through his fantasy world, Hogancamp demonstrates how artistic imagination can restore the human spirit.

Vice

When Dick Cheney (Christian Bale) is selected to be the running mate of Texas Governor George W. Bush (Sam Rockwell) in the 2000 presidential election, the Halliburton Company CEO utilizes his previous stints as White House chief of staff and defense secretary to rise to the top of the political chain. When the Republican party wins the election by a narrow margin, Vice President Cheney takes his newfound power and helps reshape America and the globe. Vice also stars Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld and Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney.

Holmes & Watson

The Step Brothers duo Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly are reunited as master detective Sherlock Holmes and his loyal partner Dr. John Watson. In this case, Holmes and Watson investigate a murder at Buckingham Palace, soon learning that they have only four days to solve the mystery and beat their nemesis Professor James Moriarty (Ralph Fiennes), or Queen Victoria (Pam Ferris) will become the next victim of Moriarty’s crimes. It’s deductive minds meets silly hijinks in this high-stakes comedy.

On the Basis of Sex

The film tells the inspiring true story of the earlier years of current Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s career. As a young female lawyer in the 70s fighting for her place in the male-dominated field of law, RBG (Felicity Jones) works with her husband Marty Ginsburg (Armie Hammer) to bring a groundbreaking case before the U.S. Court of Appeals and overturn a century of gender discrimination. Justin Theroux, Kathy Bates, and Sam Waterston also star in supporting roles.

Will you be seeing a movie at the theater during the Christmas holidays? Let us know in the comments!